Application Procedure 

Applications for our 2024-2025 cohort will open on October 10th, 2023. The deadline to submit your application is January 5th, 2024. Please see below for more information on our Fall 2024 intake. 

  • Applications are submitted to the School of Graduate Studies through the online application system.
  • Once you start your online application and enter your personal contact information, an automated email will be sent to you with your applicant identification number and secure password.
  • You can leave and return to your application at any point, prior to paying the application fee. Once you have paid the application fee ($125), you can check on the status of your application during the processing period. 

 Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a JOINid via email. Please keep this on file. Upon acceptance into the program, the JOINid is required to log onto UofT services until you receive your own official UTORid.

Once Your Application is Received

Application Instructions

The following components are required to apply to the Master of Environment and Sustainability program. All documents must be uploaded to the online School of Graduate Studies application system by the admissions deadline. 

Identifying your potential supervisor will help you narrow down your research interests based on supervisor interests and availability for the 2024-25 academic year.

  • Find eligible supervisors here.
  • Contact eligible supervisors in advance of submitting your application.
  • Identify eligible supervisors (including their willingness to serve as supervisor) in your letter of intent.

The letter of intent is your opportunity to introduce yourself and describe why you are applying to the Master of Environment and Sustainability. It should include the following elements:

  • An outline of your proposed research: Describe your proposed area of research, including related questions of interest and methods to be applied. Potential supervisors who are graduate faculty at the School of the Environment must be identified. Contact graduate faculty in advance of your application and identify them (including their willingness to serve as supervisors).
  • A statement of academic interests: Describe your scholarly interests and how the program will fulfill them. Details should be provided regarding your academic background and prior work, research and/or volunteer experience, and how they provide a good foundation for successfully completing the program and related thesis requirements.
  • Describe how the program will support your future academic or career plans following successful completion of the program.
  • The letter of intent should be a maximum of 750 words.

Diversity Statement: Optional

The School of the Environment is strongly committed to diversity. We welcome applications from racialized and marginalized communities, including Indigenous peoples and those of color, individuals with disabilities and persons who identify as LGBTQ, as well as others who may positively contribute to diversity at the School. Applicants are encouraged to submit an optional diversity statement (400-500 words), which details how they can support diversity as an Master of Environment and Sustainability candidate, and in future scholarly and career plans.

As part of your diversity statement, you may consider inclusion of the following:

  • Past economic or educational challenges that have prevented you from fulfilling personal goals and how you have overcome them.
  • Thoughts on how you understand existing societal inequities and how they should be effectively addressed.
  • Plans on how your proposed research will contribute to promoting equity and diversity along social, economic, educational and cultural lines.
  • Examples of past volunteer or community service that has helped promote equity and diversity.

The Letter of Intent and Optional Diversity Statement should be submitted as one file.

Transcripts of your academic record from each university attended are required as part of your application package.

  • Please scan or take a screen shot of your transcripts to be uploaded as part of application. Ensure that you are uploading your complete transcript, that your name and institution are present, and that the document is legible. Do not submit hard copies of transcripts. Those admitted to the program will be required to submit hard copies of official transcripts at the time of admission.
  • If your transcripts or documents are not in English, you are expected to submit a notarized translation in English, together with the original documents. Transcripts/documents in French will be exempted from this requirement.
  • The file size of each scanned transcript must not exceed 4 megabytes (MB). Scanned documents must be clearly legible and print on standard CDN/U.S. 81/2″ x 11″ paper. The file must be in PDF format. Image files, such as those in .jpg or .bmp formats, must be converted to .PDF before uploading. Please scan your transcript in grayscale at the lowest dots per inch (dpi) setting that results in a legible document. We recommend 72 dpi whenever possible.
  • If you are enrolled in an academic program at the time of application and your final grades are not available, you are expected to submit formal documentation of your successful program completion before your admission to the Master of Environment and Sustainability can be completed.

You are expected to submit two academic letters of reference.

  • Include the names and email addresses of two academic referees as part of your online application. They will be contacted via email to provide letters of recommendation, after you have paid your application fee.
  • Letters of recommendation are part of your academic record and treated as confidential. You will not have to access them.
  • If you have been working in the last two years since graduating from a university, you may submit letters of reference from employers instead.
  • Please note that while the system does accept more than two referees, we will only consider two when reviewing applications.

You should submit an up-to-date resume/CV as part of your package, detailing your educational background and work and volunteer experience, professional activities, awards, and other relevant information.

As English is the primary language of instruction and communication at the University of Toronto, applicants must demonstrate an adequate level of proficiency in English, regardless of citizenship status or country of origin. It is important that applicants follow School of Graduate Studies’ policies on English Language Proficiency and Testing Requirements. The minimum required scores can also be found on the School of Graduate Studies website.

Applicants from universities outside Canada where English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application.

Please note that test scores that are more than two years old by the time of application deadline will not be accepted.

Your application fee ($125) must be received by the School of Graduate Studies before we can consider your application. Fees must be paid online by MasterCard or Visa and are non-refundable.

Fee Waiver Application

The School is committed to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. Every application submitted to the School of the Environment’s MES program is charged a $125 processing fee by the School of Graduate Studies. The School appreciates this fee may be a barrier for some of our potential applicants.

The School has a limited number of fee waivers for both domestic and international applicants who self-identify as experiencing politically, socially, or financially precarious circumstances or belonging to a marginalized or underrepresented group. In order to be considered for a fee waiver, applicants must submit a complete MES application (including a Diversity Statement) by January 5, 2024. In your Diversity Statement, please indicate your interest in being considered for the fee waiver. Applicants who are selected for the fee waiver will be contacted regarding next steps for the waiver reimbursement process after the application deadline of January 5th, 2024.